Botanicaust by Tam Linsey Page A

and gloated at the same time, and a kernel of worry for Tula took root in Levi ’ s heart.
    “ Tula? ” His voice scratched from his throat.
    A malicious smile crept over the green face. The man smoothed the beads hanging from his neck and stepped closer. He said something Levi couldn ’ t understand.
    Levi grew truly concerned. All the Haldanian words he ’ d learned fled his mind. He rose, edging toward the bars. “ Where is Tula? ”
    Again the man spoke, his nostrils flaring. Then he laughed and pointed at the gamma pad on the floor of the cell.
    Levi picked up the pad. He offered it to the man.
    Again the man laughed. Taking the pad between thumb and forefinger, he disappeared up the stairs without another word.

    Minutes after Tula found the girls, Burn Operatives had located Jo Boy stumbling drunkenly across the Burn. He had refused to come peaceably. The Ops had followed procedure and taken him down.
    Sitting numbly by the hospital beds where Rhomy and Nika lay unconscious, Tula kept picturing the blackened body in Bats ’ s arms. Jo Boy hadn ’ t even had someone to hold him in his last moments. The hollowness in the pit of her stomach threatened to consume her.
    Luckily, the girls were alive. Barely. Between the UV exposure and being surrounded in plant matter, their systems overflowed with alkaloids. They ’ d strapped each girl to a gurney. Tubes and monitors snaked every which way around them — but not the most important tube.
    “ They ’ ll die without treatment, ” Tula argued.
    The Medical Operative in charge nodded. “ Policy on Reversions is no excess resources. Telomerase treatments are out of the question. ”
    “ So, you ’ re saying if these were native Haldanians, you ’ d help them. ”
    “ Of course. Their parents could foot the bill. The Conversion Department is very strict with funding. ”
    Tula rubbed her face with trembling hands. She could not bear any more death. “ I ’ ll pay the bill, then. How much? ”
    The Med Op twisted one side of his mouth and shook his head. “ You don ’ t want to know, Dr. Macoby. One of them, maybe you could afford. With two year ’ s salary. Both? We couldn ’ t allow it. ”
    “ You can ’ t let them die! ” Rhomy had already been through a bout of seizures, and her brain waves were erratic.
    “ Even if I were to treat them, at this point they likely have irreversible brain damage. They ’ d be a drain on Protectorate resources for the rest of their lives. ”
    Tula ’ s voice trembled. “ They might survive without telomerase therapy. ”
    The man ’ s eyes shifted away. “ That ’ s a matter for the Conversion Department. ”
    She knew what he meant. Euthanization. She stroked Nika ’ s tiny green hand. Blisters from the plants dotted the once smooth surface of her clammy skin. “ I ’ ll pay for Nika. I want to save at least one. ”
    “ This is highly unusual, ” the Med Op sputtered.
    “ Just do it! ” Tula spun and glared at him. His gaze drifted to her scar and his lips clamped shut, but he nodded. Tula could barely breathe over the tightness in her chest. “ Yes, I ’ m a convert, too. It doesn ’ t make me less Haldanian. ”
    “ I ’ ll get a gene tech in here immediately. ” He scurried away without making eye contact.
    Taking Rhomy ’ s hand, she shuddered with repressed tears. After a few controlled inhalations, she put her fingertips to Rhomy ’ s tiny, naked chest. The girl ’ s heartbeat fluttered under her breastbone, and her breathing rose and fell almost as quickly. “ I ’ m sorry, Rhomy. ”
    Unstoppable tears ran down her cheeks. Letting Rhomy go hurt so much. But Nika was the more stable patient, the better choice to save. Tula would have given her own life to save them both.
    A female tech arrived and began setting up the telomerase cocktail. She looked between the girls and then at Tula. “ Which one? ”
    Tula hesitated, then lifted a trembling finger toward Nika.

    Levi normally